[WSJ] Washington and the press corps are feuding over the Trump "dossier," screaming about what counts as "fake news." The pity is that this has turned into a story about media ethics. The far better subject is the origin of the dossier itself.
"Fake news" doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s created by people with an agenda. This dossier--which alleges that Donald Trump has deep backing from Russia--is a turbocharged example of the smear strategy that the left has been ramping up for a decade. Team Trump needs to put the scandal in that context so that it can get to governing and better defuse the next such attack.
The more that progressives have failed to win political arguments, the more they have turned to underhanded tactics to shut down their political opponents. (For a complete account of these abuses, see my book, "The Intimidation Game.") Liberals co-opted the IRS to crack down on Tea Party groups. They used state prosecutors to launch phony investigations. They coordinated liberal shock troops to threaten corporations. And they--important for today’s hysteria--routinely employed outside dirt diggers to engage in character assassination.
This editorial page ran a series in 2012 about one such attack, on Frank VanderSloot. In 2011 the Idaho businessman gave $1 million to a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney. The following spring, the Obama re-election campaign publicly smeared Mr. VanderSloot (and seven other Romney donors) as "wealthy individuals with less-than-reputable records."
This national shaming, by the president no less, painted a giant target on Mr. VanderSloot’s back. The liberal media slandered him daily on TV and in print. The federal bureaucracy went after him: He was ultimately audited by the IRS and the Labor Department. About a week after the Obama attack, an investigator contacted a courthouse in Idaho Falls demanding documents dealing with Mr. VanderSloot’s divorces, as well as any other litigation involving him. We traced this investigator to an opposition-research chop shop called Fusion GPS.
Fusion is run by a former Wall Street Journal reporter, Glenn Simpson. When we asked how he could justify dumpster-diving into the divorce records of private citizens, he said only that Mr. VanderSloot was a "legitimate" target. He refused to tell us who’d paid him to do this slumming, and federal records didn’t show any payments to Fusion from prominent Democratic groups or campaigns. The money may well have been washed through third-party groups.
Why does this matter? Guess who is behind that dossier against Mr. Trump: Fusion GPS. A Republican donor who opposed Mr. Trump during the primaries hired Fusion to create a file on "the real estate magnate’s past scandals and weaknesses," according to the New York Times. After Mr. Trump won the GOP race, that donor pulled the plug. Fusion then seamlessly made its product available to "new clients"--liberals supporting Hillary Clinton. Moreover, it stooped to lower tactics, hiring a former British spook to help tie Mr. Trump to the Russians. (Fusion GPS did not respond to a request for comment.)
No media organization has so far been able to confirm a single allegation in the dossier. Given Fusion’s history and tactics, trying arguably isn’t worth the effort. Truth was never its purpose.
The point of the dossier--as with the dredging into Mr. VanderSloot’s personal life, or the smearing of the Koch brothers, or Harry Reid’s false accusation that Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes--was to gin up the ugliest, most scurrilous claims, and then trust the click-hungry media to disseminate them. No matter how false the allegations, the subject of the attack is required to respond, wasting precious time and losing credibility. Mr. Trump should be focused on his nominations, his policies, disentangling himself from his business. Instead his team is trying to disprove a negative and prevent the accusations, no matter how flimsy, from seeping into voters’ minds.
Opposition research and false claims are an equal opportunity game. But it says something about the brass-knuckle approach of the left that it would go so far as to write a dossier suggesting that Mr. Trump is a Manchurian candidate--and then to foist that report into the hands of intelligence officials.
Mr. Trump can expect plenty more of this to come. In winning the election, he blocked the left’s ability to use some of its favorite intimidation tactics. It no longer controls an accommodating federal bureaucracy. It no longer runs a Justice Department willing to threaten political opponents and turn a blind eye to liberal abuse.
So the left will increasingly rely on campaigns of delegitimization designed to force opponents onto a back foot, push them off task, or even bully them out of the public arena. In the absence of a winning policy argument, this is, in their minds, the best they’ve got. Republicans had better be ready for it.
Write to kim@wsj.com.
[GP] Chris Cox, Bikers for Trump founder, joined Stewart Varney on Friday to discuss plans for next week’s Inauguration. Bikers for Trump announced plans to protect Trump and Inaugural attendees. Cox says the bikers will "form a wall of meat" if needed.
#1
Provide them a Law Enforcement liaison team with communications capabilities, assign them a key security sector and instruct them to hold it to the last man.
Lawn chairs, adult beverages, and sandwhiches as time permits.
[Free Beacon] A leading public-relations service blasted and then removed a news release this week highlighting a campaign to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump by crashing WhiteHouse.gov.
PR Newswire, a global news-release distribution service, circulated a release on Thursday highlighting a campaign launched by Protester.io, a digital protest organizing platform, to "take down" the White House website next Friday in protest of Trump’s inauguration.
"On January 20th, hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to Washington, DC to march in protest of the inauguration of Donald Trump. Millions more around the country will be joining the cause from home. If you can’t make it to Washington DC on inauguration day, you can still participate by occupying whitehouse.gov online," the release read.
"Why is it important to participate? Isn’t this just another election? We haven’t lost our democracy yet, but it is most definitely under threat. The only way we’re going to defend and revive our democracy is by mobilizing."
Protester.io describes itself as a platform that helps individuals "organize protests like a crowdfunding campaign." A description of the Inauguration Day protest on its website, named "Occupy WhiteHouse.gov," instructs interested parties to go to the White House website on Jan. 20 and refresh the page as often as possible throughout the day. The page also includes instructions for protesters to "automate" page refresh so that their computers do this automatically.
"When enough people occupy www.WhiteHouse.gov the site will go down. Please join us and stand up against this demagogue who is threatening our democracy and our security," the protest page states.
#1
Given the critical importance of the whitehouse.gov website to life of every American, I predict this will have significant impact. And by 'significant impact', I mean that nobody outside this petulant gang of self-important wankers will notice.
#13
Problem is, you start a week prior to learn who the "leaders" are.
But the cyber attack on the Whitehouse site? Go ahead, it's all about obama anyway. I assure you it will be replaced.
[The Hill] A growing number of Democrats are saying they won’t watch President-elect Donald Trump take the oath of office next week.
The overwhelming majority of Democrats plan to attend the inauguration and uphold the tradition of watching the peaceful transfer of power, regardless of party. But after an exceptionally divisive election, some are breaking with the norm.
As Jan. 20 draws near, six Democrats have announced they’ll boycott the inauguration. Here's a running list of who's skipping the event.
#4
Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.): "...But he hasn’t proved himself to me at all yet, so I respectfully decline to freeze my ass out there in the cold for this particular ceremony.”
Aren't you an extra special snowflake?
[Daily Caller] Key Department of Justice (DOJ) officials may escape being interviewed in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s review of the FBI’s investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a home-brew email server to do official government business.
Inspectors General only have authority to compel current government employees to comply with interview requests under the Inspector General Act, so they are unable to force testimony from officials like Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Peter Kadzik once they leave office along with President Barack Obama, potentially leaving Horowitz to deal with gaping holes in his review.
"Once they’re gone, the IG has no jurisdiction over them," former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova told The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group.
Horowitz announced Thursday he is investigating whether DOJ and the FBI broke federal policy in handling the Clinton email investigation in the months leading up to the presidential election.
#5
I hope Obama pardons her, it's an admission of guilt without the trials that would make a martyr of her. Might be a clever way for him to look like a good guy while getting her out of the way during his post election career.
[Breitbart] In the first installment of this series, we observed that globalism is an ideology, maybe even a theology. And so of course, globalism generates plenty of passionate support among the planetary elite. And yet passion must be translated into political power. And of course, the globalists have plenty of that, too. In this second installment, we will see how the globalists still seek to get their way, even after losing the 2016 elections. For them, Target #1, of course, is Donald Trump.
1. The Weaponization of Rumors
Every Breitbart reader is familiar with the general outlines of the Russia hack story: Beginning in June 2016, someone or something known as "Guccifer 2.0" was taking credit for hacking the computers of top Democrats and, working through Julian Assange’s Wikileaks, doling out juicy information.
The hacks were clearly damaging to the Democrats. And because the leaks proved to be true, they had significant repercussions. The revelations forced, for example, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, to resign last July.
Soon, the Democrats developed their counter-strategy, which can be summed up as, It’s Donald Trump’s fault. That is, whoever and whatever Guccifer was, he or it was doing the hacking to help Trump. So again, Blame Trump!
From the Grady book defining the term Deep State: "There is a hidden country within the United States. It was formed from the astonishing number of secrets held by the government and the growing ranks of secret-keepers given charge over them. he government secrecy industry speaks in a private language of codes and acronyms, and follows an arcane set of rules and customs designed to perpetuate itself, repel penetration, and deflect oversight. It justifies itself with the assertion that the American values worth preserving are often best sustained by subterfuge and deception."
The over-arching control structure is essentially a 'shadow government' (my term of reference, not Grady's) of decision makers and puppet masters who are very reluctant to relinquish power. Their existence can no longer be disputed, their identities are now being revealed. A President Elect, Donald Trump was never an intended component of the Shadow Government or 'Deep State' plan.
If you doubt the existence of a 'Deep State' or believe it to be a wild conspiracy theory, examine the lack of accountability within the Intelligence Community for the events of 9/11; the tragedy of Benghazi; the return to the battlefield of GITMO detainees; the illegal 'home brew' servers of a Secretary of State; and over fifteen years of continuing conflict in AFG and Iraq. Our elected leaders in congress are well aware of their role in this relationship and their lack of ability to do much if anything about it.
"Franklin Graham should be removed from Donald Trump's inauguration line up, the US' largest Muslim civil rights group said on Thursday. The outspoken conservative pastor and son of evangelist Billy Graham is due to pray at the ceremony next week in Washington.
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Surprise!
called on the president-elect to drop Franklin, who they described as a "notorious Islamophobe", in order to unite the country.
"If President-elect Trump truly seeks to unite our nation as he promised in his acceptance speech, he will limit the list of those offering prayers at the inauguration to religious leaders who work to bring us together, not to create divisions between faiths," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
"Rev Graham's ill-informed and extremist views are incompatible with the Constitution and with American values of religious liberty and inclusion."
#3
Hopefully Trump will place his hand on the Bible during the swearing in ceremony as well. And since Chicago is asking for federal assistance against evil as well, his new head of education places the ten commandments prominently in each school.
#7
"Rev Graham's ill-informed and extremist views are incompatible with the Constitution and with American values of religious liberty and inclusion."
They're a helluva lot more compatible with our Constitution and our values than Islam is. If you don't like our culture, GET OUT. Do it while you still can.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/14/2017 13:06
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"I'm still waiting for the "other" Muslims to denounce CAIR....Whoops times up.
[SPECTATOR.ORG] If the posturing was pure politics, it seems like stupid politics. First off, Senator Marco Rubio The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida... didn’t give John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... this difficult of a time and one could reasonably argue that Kerry’s behavior regarding the Vietnam war was disloyal or treasonous. Second, does Mr. Rubio want to start off with the new president from a position of hostility, and who is giving him this genius advice? Third, if he sets up a purely adversarial role now, how will later concessions look to his loyal fans? ... if any.
Taking Mr. Rubio literally, and assuming that he is genuinely concerned that we have a potential Secretary of State who doesn’t care about human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... , war crimes, and is a completely driven instead by profit, what did he expect Mr. Tillerson to say? Piss off, kid."
If Mr. Tillerson is morally obtuse, he’s not going to say anything bad about Putin or Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n’s 10th century treatment of women. If, as is more likely, Mr. Tillerson sees this bad behavior but must negotiate with these world leaders and countries, he cannot say anything needlessly provocative either. Unlike Marco, he doesn't have to make a name for himself.
There are different world views at play. I’m in the conservative camp who feels that it was wrong to foment civil war in Libya, that a tyrant friendly to America was preferable to civil war. I kinda sorta disagree, because Qadaffy was a nut. Lockerby sez he wasn't a friend of the U.S. The Berlin disco bombing sez he wasn't. He happened to be cowed by the Gulf War, but he wasn't the kind of fellow you could repose a lot of trust in.
Same goes for Egypt and the Soros-funded Moslem Brüderbund debacle. That since we committed to Iraq, we should leave forces there so a power vacuum wasn’t created. I thought it was terrible weakness to not put a defensive shield in Poland. It was stupid to not push the Castros harder. It was folly to fund and arm Iran. It’s plain evil to treat Israel as the enemy. I believe that's the governing phrase. We've seen Evil itself erupt, Nazis without the nifty uniforms. Any point of compromise is dwindling from view in the rear view mirror.
Strength does not have to mean constant tinkering and meddling. It can mean innovation, overwhelming power, and distinct but strategic uses of that power. That’s a big change from nation-fussing. It tends to be more, well, Reaganesque. Rhetorically strong, backed up with overwhelming military might, and less intervention. Way back then we thought democracy was possible in that part of the world. We've now proven it isn't, to everyone's satisfaction. Time to replace the old dictator with a new dictator, but it's not the sort of thing you announce up front. Now is the time to launch a program of quietly but ruthlessly undermining the Evil emanating from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistain, and to recognize the potential neo-Ottoman Evil arising in Turkey...
Tillerson may be the more pragmatic, less interventionist type. Is that a bad thing?
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Human rights are a wonderful thing. Tell it to any hetero male going to an American college.
#4
Senator Rubio's questions were legitimate for any prospective SoS . Mr. Tillerson's responses were measured and more than adequate for confirmation. Rubio's posturing during and especially after would indicate an agenda beyond advise and consent. Tillerson assuredly will wisely use this episode to his advantage in future negotiations with the regimes in question.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] An official of the Afghan High Peace Council (AHPC) official is under fire for calling the Talibs ’Angels and a Holy Group’. Guess you can tell which side he's on.
The acting provincial governor of northern Balkh province and Chief Executive of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Ata Mohammad Noor reacted towards the remarks by Abdul Hakim Mujahid, an adviser to the High Peace Council of Afghanistan.
Calling the remarks by Mujahid as illogical, Noor emphasized on the need to ascertain the enemies inside the system before going to face them in the battleground.
Noor further added that such individuals should be put behind the bars for insulting the national deaders and killing the innocent Afghan people on daily basis. killing the innocent Afghan people on daily basis.
Noor specifically pointed towards the recent attacks in Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... , Kandahar, and Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... and slammed the official for his irresponsible remarks.
In his remarks last week, Mujahid called the Talibs angels of peace and endorsed their position in the ongoing violence of remaining in a holy level.
Mujahid offered the group’s fight against Russia as a justification for his claim and called the former Afghanistan's Caped President Dr. Najibullah a traitor besides calling ex-President Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... as the main factor in the devastating civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#4
Very refreshing to see hundreds of Latino, Spanish speaking Knights of Columbus members, a chapter of the Catholic Church, marching today for pro-life and other conservative values in a major Texas city in defiance of the Pope and the left..
[ALMASDARNEWS] Kattab al-Qahtani, an associate of the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... and a veteran al-Qaeda leader, has been killed in a dronezap with eight others in Syria.
Qahtani, who fought with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan alongside the architect of the 9/11 attacks, was killed as he travelled through north-west Syria in a convoy with a Syrian al- Qaeda commander and a holy warrior belonging to the Turkistan Islamic Party, a faction of Chinese jihadis.
The jihadi stalwart, originally from the Arabian peninsula, was killed on 1 January in a wave of Arclight airstrikes that has targeted al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria at an unprecedented rate, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.
With its explosive expansion across Syria and later Iraq in 2014 the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , formerly linked to al-Qaeda, eclipsed the older group. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... Syria has one of the largest and most active concentrations of al-Qaeda gunnies in the world.
The impetus behind the increased targeting of al-Qaeda operatives is not immediately clear. For years Washington has targeted the Lion of Islam group and particularly its internal Khorasan structure which plans attacks against the West and its interests abroad.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[OBSERVER] On a policy level, the widely-held (bipartisan) view is that Sen. Schumer is basically a non-entity. He has no new ideas. He has no major bipartisan legislative accomplishments. He is not a national leader on any one policy issue. He is an expert on nothing substantively.
He’s a front man at his core--a Pez dispenser of talking points. No one in politics cares more about media coverage than Chuck Schumer Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. Senate minority leader as of 2017. . This is an established fact.
The best training that a Democratic professional communicator can get is to work in the Schumer press shop, because it is outstanding training. It is also borderline un-survivable, as he goes through flacks rapidly.
Part of the reason it’s so demanding is that Schumer’s standard operating procedure in New York is to hold weekly Sunday pressers. While his colleagues and their staff members are with their families, in bed, or at church, Schumer is earning media this Sunday, next Sunday, and every Sunday after that for eternity.
He drives the news in New York. He drives the news nationally. He sets the agenda for the week.
But the job of Senate Democratic Leader is not a press job. That is just a small part of what the job requires, but it is far more comprehensive than that. You are your conference’s leader, and you are responsible for legislative strategy and outcomes. You want to grow your majority. You must heed the base, but also protect vulnerable members. You must find unity, wherever you can. In short, you must deliver.
With the results of the 2016 election behind us, Democrats have 48 Senators in their conference, more than enough to throw their weight around.
When the 60-vote Senate legislative threshold is needed, the Trump administration and the Senate GOP majority are going to need eight Democratic votes, and I believe that will be difficult in the early months.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... Schumer has already made two significant mistakes:
1. He stood by former Senate Minority Leader Reid’s unwise and shortsighted use of the "nuclear option," which reduced the threshold for nominees and all judges (except the Supreme Court) from 60 votes to 51. I predict that this decision singlehandedly will result in confirmation of the entire Trump cabinet and in confirmation of the next generation of conservative judicial stars (or future Supreme Court nominees).
2. His complete lack of knowledge of how the Senate works was on display as the confirmation hearing timetable for Cabinet nominees was announced. Did he forget that the Majority sets the schedule? Senate Majority Leader McConnell outfoxed Schumer by loading up nominees on the same days, to divide and conquer Trump administration opponents and their media allies.
The Senate minority will keep trying to slow things down, but as the clock ticks, the ten Democratic incumbents up for reelection in states that Trump won will feel the heat.
Will they stick by a Democratic conference led by a press hound with no strategy? Or will they protect their own careers?
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Things have changed Young man.
Obstruction is not going to gain you any parity with the Americans you schmuck.
Take a break from your fake moral crusade, and catch your breath. Your army of harpies and flying monkeys is decimated.
Your job is to not lose more seats next election, which you all will.
Silence is a virtue in front of overwhelming Nation.
#2
I'm just thrilled to have the organ grinder monkey Schumer as the Senate minority leader. While he is hopping up and down and screaming his little scream, it keeps proving the demoncrats have learned nothing from the past 6 years of defeats and will keep doubling down on stupid.
#5
When the 60-vote Senate legislative threshold is needed, the Trump administration and the Senate GOP majority are going to need eight Democratic votes, and I believe that will be difficult in the early months.
I guess this writer never heard of "the nuclear option", "deemed to be passed" or "pen and a phone".
The Büderbund is the political wing of working terror groups, and its platform is dictatorial -- see Egypt, Mohammad Morsi version; Turkey, Erdogan Bey version; Paleostine, Hamas version; and Libya, Ghariani-sponsored version(s). Qaradawi is the organization's mind, and Qatar owns Qaradawi (or maybe they own each other). Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have already designated it a terror group. [YALIBNAN] Three U.S. politicians, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) who was a presidential candidate, have proposed a measure calling for the Moslem Brüderbund to be designated a foreign terrorist organization.
"Proud to introduce Moslem Brüderbund Terrorist Designation Act," Cruz tweeted this week.
Cruz is optimistic that the Moslem Brüderbund Terrorist Designation Act -introduced this week in both chambers of Congress ‐ will get signed into law given that Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... will reach the White House at the end of Democrat President Barak Obama’s tenure.
Given that a bill would go through several stages before its adoption, Trump will likely be the one signing it.
Republicans have the majority in the House and Senate and consequently control the leadership of the most important Congressional committees. This would facilitate the adoption of the bill.
American Muslim advocates contend that the real intent of Cruz’s bill has little to do with foreign policy. Naturally. What could a designation of an international Islamist organization dedicated to imposing its brand of authoritarianism on the rest of the world have to do with foreign policy?
Rather, they argue, the legislation would enable the U.S. government to target domestic Muslim groups that Cruz and others earnestly believe are part of a massive, covert conspiracy to destroy the U.S. from within. But if the domestic groups are actually a part of an international movement inimical to American interests, why shouldn't they be targeted? Designation of al-Qaeda as a terrorist group led to domestic Qaeda wannabes being targeted. Why should supporters of Hamas or Jaish al-Islam or Libya Dawn be any different?
A 2001 executive order issued by President George W. Bush gave the State and Treasury departments broad powers to investigate organizations that the government alleges have provided material support to, or are “otherwise associated with,” a designated terror group. Those being investigated can have their funds frozen and be subject to warrantless searches and asset seizures. The investigations can drag on for years, effectively shutting down the organization. And CAIR is somehow afraid that will happen to them.
A 2009 American Civil Liberties Union review of Muslim charities in the crosshairs found that Bush’s executive order “effectively allows the government to shut down an organization without notice or hearing and on the basis of classified evidence, and without any judicial review.”
Now Cruz’s legislation looks like another step along that road.
“The bill is about domestic control of Muslims,” Corey Saylor, director of the department to monitor and combat Islamophobia at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told The Huffington Post. “It has everything to do with a widely debunked conspiracy theory that Muslim organizations are nefarious.” Somehow we knew they'd be unhappy with it.
“Let me be extremely clear,” J.M. Berger, a counterterrorism analyst at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told BuzzFeed last fall, ... and if you can't trust Buzzfeed who can you trust?
speaking of the broader idea of a terrorist designation for the Muslim Brotherhood. “This initiative is concerned with controlling American Muslims, not with any issue pertaining to the Muslim Brotherhood in any practical or realistic sense.”
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Perhaps the Büderbund should've concentrated on buying (more) Republicans?
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] An undercover officer smashed a terror cell drumming up support for Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Death Eaters after he spent nearly two years infiltrating meetings to record their inflammatory speeches.
The officer identified only as Kamal forged close relationships with the Luton chapter of a banned group linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary ...Self-proclaimed holy man who used to work for Omar Mohammed Bakdri as spokesman for al-Muhajiroun. Anjem is a loathesome little attention prostitute who is to be heard cheering for the home team anytime anybody with a turban manages to slaughter a group of unarmed infidels. Anjem was born in the UK in 1967 and is, as you would expect, of Pakistaini descent. The Ghost of Dante is of the opinion that when he goes to hell his knees will be broken once a month... as he collected evidence, a court heard.
In one rant, one of the gang spoke of 40 truck bombs "driving down Oxford Street", the Old Bailey was told.
Speeches were delivered to up to 100 people, including young children, and the group praised Isil and urged others to travel to Syria to fight.
Zaiur Rahman, 39, was convicted of arranging meetings after putting up a marquee in his back garden to host the Luton chapter of al-Muhajiroun ...formerly Omar Bakri Muhammad's spin off group from Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, where the detestable lunatic Anjem Chaudry got his start. More recently the name adopted by al-Qaeda in East Africa for operations in Kenya and Tanzania. It is subordinate to al-Shabaab but will probably be strong enough to fly on its own, given an uninterrupted flow of petrodollars, should the Shaboobs collapse....
What if the flow of petrodollars is interrupted?
Meetings were also held in a nearby Methodist church hall.
Mohammed Choudry, 23, was found guilty of encouraging support for Isil, while Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 37, Rajib Khan, 38, and Yousaf Bashir, 36, were convicted of similar offences last summer.
The invitation-only gatherings in June and July 2015 featured speeches calling for gay people to be thrown from buildings, the court heard.
One was held on the anniversary of the London Tube bombings while in another Choudry spoke of "40 trucks driving down Oxford Street full of explosives".
Choudry, who is married with a young child, told his audience: "My brothers, there is a wave coming. Either you be part of it or you drown. Either you like it or you don't like it.'
"The arc of history is bending in our direction, O my brothers. Grab your surfboards, and haaaaannnnggg tennnnnnn!!!"
Anjem Choudary, who was last year tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! for five-and-a-half years, spoke at one of the meetings in Rahman's garden.
Those attending the speeches included Shazib and Junead Khan. Junead Khan is serving a life sentence for plotting to kill a US soldier in the UK, while Shazib Khan is serving a 13-year jail term for plans to fight alongside Isis in Syria.
Rahman, from Luton, was convicted of three counts of arranging meetings in support of a proscribed organization, while Choudry, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was convicted of one count of encouraging support for a proscribed organization.
Judge Michael Topolski QC told the pair they had been convicted "of arranging meetings and speaking at a meeting in support of a vicious terrorist organization, who's members and supporters, just like you two, have hijacked and corrupted the principles and practices of an ancient and revered religion for its own purposes".
Kamal accompanied Rahman and Choudry to a meeting where the speaker praised the massacre of 12 journalists at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo ...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority of the active testicles left in Europe... The court heard a secret recording where the speaker says: "It's a great day, it's excellent news."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] American Media revealed that President Barack Obama It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person.... presented a final gift to Iran. He agreed before the end of his mandate to secretly provide Tehran with 130 tons of Uranium, which can be used as fuel for a nuclear reactor or as the heart of an atomic bomb.
According to the Daily Wire, US diplomats stated that Iran is due to receive a huge shipment of natural Uranium from Russia to compensate it for exporting tons of reactor coolant. This was approved by the B.O. regime and other governments seeking to keep Tehran committed to the nuclear pact.
The two senior diplomats, who preferred to remain anonymous, declared that the shipment was approved by the US and five other world powers that negotiated the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido stepped from behind the suit of armor, rapier in hand. Ciccolini snarled and reached for his own weapon... Iran foresees the delivery of 116 metric tons (nearly 130 tons) of natural uranium.
They added that they need the approval of the UN Security Council, nevertheless: "It will only be a formality, considering that five of those powers are permanent Security Council members."
In the current deal, Iran compensated Russia with roughly 40 metric tons (44 tons) of heavy water; Iran also sent 30 tons of other metric, to the United States and Oman, according to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six-party that took place at the beginning of July of the past year.
The Daily Wire reported that the Diplomats stated that any natural Uranium going to Iran would be under strict surveillance by the UN’s ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency for 25 years after the deal went through.
The newspaper quoted David Albright of the Institute of Science and International Security saying that the Uranium shipment could be enriched to build over 10 simple nuclear bombs, depending on the efficiency of the enrichment process and the design of the nuclear weapon.
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[NYPOST] The best thing that happened to Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... all week is that BuzzFeed published the raw Russia dossier about him.
It can’t be pleasant for anyone to see his name associated with hookers and a bizarre sex act in print -- the principle that all publicity is good publicity can be taken too far, even for Donald Trump.
But in the media’s ongoing fight with Trump, BuzzFeed’s incredible act of journalistic irresponsibility represented the press leading with its chin.
Trump thrives off of media hostility, and the more hostile -- and the less defensible -- the better. It allows him to portray himself as the victim of a stilted establishment. It fires up his supporters. It keeps the debate on terrain that is familiar and favorable to him -- whether or not he is being treated "fairly" -- and allows him to adopt his preferred posture as a "counterpuncher."
There are legitimate questions raised about how determined Trump has been to ignore evidence of Russia’s hacking operations prior to the election. BuzzFeed unintentionally did more to obscure and delegitimize these questions than Trump Tower could ever hope to. By publishing the uncorroborated dossier, BuzzFeed has associated the Russia issue with fantastical rumors and hearsay.
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#1
It can’t be pleasant for anyone to see his name associated with hookers and a bizarre sex act in print
Even if it were true, eh?
Maybe it wasn't about sex.
#2
"It can’t be pleasant for anyone to see his name associated with hookers and a bizarre sex act in print" Charlie Sheen could not be reached for comment.
[DAILYWIRE] On Wednesday, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott was peppered with racially charged attacks from leftists who disapproved of his support, as a black man, for Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
Sessions has been wrongfully slandered as a racist by the left, despite the fact that he's successfully prosecuted a murderous KKK member with the death penalty and helped to desegregate schools. In other words, if he's a racist, he's really bad at it. Of course, Scott's Sessions-backing sin is just an add-on to his other, greater leftist-deemed sin: being black while Republican.
But the senator with a target placed on his back by the "tolerant" left handled such vitriolic attacks like a boss.
For example, when one brave online warrior referred to Scott as a "house n****" -- a derogatory term used to describe black people who are supposedly submissive to the white man -- Scott replied: "Senate."
A classy, high road response and a one-word dagger rolled into one; the tweet instantly went viral. The senator was able to expose the leftist for their ignorance and racial hatred while avoiding an escalation of tensions with such a witty reply.
The tweet has since by deleted by the cowardly leftist, but a screenshot was captured by The Daily Wire, as seen below:
Scott was further attacked by Twitter leftists: "A White man in a black body: Tim Scott backs Jeff Sessions for attorney general," read one tweet.
Scott again replied with wit to knock-out the racist: "Is that like a Liger?" Scott answered, making a silly reference to the cult-classic Napoleon Dynamite.
Scott's grace and wit highlights in even more stark colors the intolerance of racist social justice warriors.
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#1
Tim Scott is Legend Here, how about where you are?
[Dhaka Tribune] Dhaka city will be renamed as "Zia City" if BNP comes to power, BNP Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu has said.
Golly.
He made the announcement during a discussion programme entitled "Conspiracy and the government of one-eleven" organised by Democratic Movement held at VIP lounge of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Wednesday.
"Recently, the government has renamed Pirojpur’s Zianagar upazila as Indurkani upazila. It means Indurkani is more befitting to Awami League and Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. ," said Dudu.
Moreover, the ruling Awami League government has changed the names of many establishments those were previously named after the greatest sons of the nation, he added.
"BNP, if conquers the national election, would replace those changes again," he announced.
He proposed the government to rename Gopalganj district as Mujibnagar as Mujib is greater than Gopal.
He also pledged to rename the big cities after the greatest sons of the soil including the Bir Sreshtha, Bir Uttam and Bir Bikram if his party gets elected for the next term.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US president-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... named Dina Habib to serve as assistant to the president and senior counselor for economic initiatives.
Habib, who was born in 1973 in Cairo, Egypt, before her parents emigrated to the States, worked with the administration of the former president, George Bush, overseeing charities initiatives, prior joining Goldman Sachs as a managing director.
She Joined the State Department as an assistant for Cultural and Educational Affairs to the then Secretary of Department, Condoleeza Rice.
Habib as a president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, has overseen one of the bank largest initiatives including the "10,000 Women" program, which helps female entrepreneurs around the world.
One of the success stories of the initiative is the case of Eudiji Mijboub, a Nigerian woman who was helped to launch her catering business with just $8 in seed capital in 2007, to become now one of the best restaurants in Lagos.
Later, Habib partnered with the World Bank to give 100,000 female-owned small and medium-sized business around the world access to some $600 million in capital
Ms Habib Powell's Wikipedia page. CNN describes her as, among other things, a graduate of the Ursaline Academy in Dallas -- an expensive Catholic college prep high school -- and a beautiful friend of Ivanka Trump.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Not thrilled with another Goldman Sachs connection. Nor with another 'family connection.' But seems a pretty typical selection.
[Iran Press TV] Yemen's army and popular committees have killed at least two Saudi troops in the kingdom’s southern province of Najran, in retaliation for Riyadh's ongoing aggression against the impoverished country.
Yemen's Arabic language al-Masirah news channel said the soldiers were killed in firing by Yemeni forces at al-Sudais military site on Friday.
In another retaliatory rocket attack, Yemeni forces destroyed at least one Saudi army tank at al-Ash military base in the same province.
Yemeni forces also targeted several Saudi military bases and strategic positions in the southern province of Jizan.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... Saudi warplanes carried out multiple Arclight airstrikes on Yemen's provinces of Sana'a and Hudaydah.
In the southern port city of Mokha, one Yemeni civilian was killed and three others were maimed when Saudi jets struck a residential area.
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[Iran Press TV] The African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... says it will cease to recognize Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... n President Yahya Jammeh as the West African country’s legitimate leader as of January 19, the date he is slated to hand power to the winner of a last month’s election.
The AU's Peace and Security Council announced the decision in a statement issued following a meeting of West African leaders in the Æthiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Friday where the participants made their last-ditch effort to persuade Jammeh to accept his recent election defeat and step down.
The statement warned of "serious consequences in the event that his [Jammeh] action causes any crisis that could lead to political disorder, humanitarian and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... disaster, including loss of innocent lives and destruction of properties."
Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years, lost the December election to the opposition coalition’s candidate Adama Barrow by a thin margin.
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[Daily Excelsior] The Border Security Force (BSF) tonight foiled major infiltration attempt by a group of four to six bully boys, trying to infiltrate into the Indian territory, along the International Border in Samba sector by killing one of them and forcing others to retreat to Pakistain.
With the thwarting of intrusion bid, a major terror attack has been foiled along Jammu-Pathankot National Highway as the faceless myrmidons were believed to be heading towards the Highway to target security forces installations.
Official sources said the BSF troops observed the movement of four to six bully boys, who were moving towards the Indian territory along Tarnah Nullah between Samba and Hiranagar sectors on the International Border, at about 9 pm tonight.
As the alert BSF troops challenged the bully boys, they opened firing with automatic weapons targeting the security personnel deployed at the Naka mounds and made determined attempt to sneak into this side.
The BSF jawans brought down heavy volume of firing on the bully boys, sources said, adding that after heavy exchange of firing one of the faceless myrmidons was killed on spot while others were reported to have retreated to Pakistain taking cover of darkness in the area.
The BSF didn’t suffer any casualties in the encounter.
Sources said body of the slain bully boy was lying on the IB and efforts would be made to retrieve it tomorrow morning.
The BSF has intensified patrolling all along the International Border in Jammu sector anticipating that the faceless myrmidons could make infiltration attempts from some other places. The security personnel were keeping strict vigil along the IB round-the-clock.
Sources said the sophisticated gadgetry installed along the International Border also helped the troops to spot the movement of faceless myrmidons towards the Indian territory.
According to sources, the weaponry in possession of the faceless myrmidons clearly indicated that they were infiltrating into this side with a view to carry out major terror attack on security or civilian installations along the National Highway.
"There had been inputs also, which suggested that the faceless myrmidons were planning to infiltrate into the Indian territory and carry out major terror attack along the National Highway," sources said.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi forces fighting ISIS in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... reached the Nineveh province governance building and raised the Iraqi flag there on Friday, a senior US defense official said.
Elissa Slotkin, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, also told a Pentagon briefing on the fight against ISIS that a US liaison team is in talks with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... about helping its forces near al-Bab in Syria and has provided air support and surveillance in the past.
"We are engaged on an hourly basis with the Turks on counter-ISIS campaign in Syria," Slotkin said. "We have a liaison team that’s resident in Ankara. They are engaging every single day on the full spectrum of coalition support to the campaign."
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] News websites affiliated with al-Assad regime, based in Lattakia, Homs, Tartus and Damascus, reported the death of Colonel Munther Salah Haider, an officer in the military intelligence, who was killed in the bombing that hit the Kafr Sousa municipality in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Thursday.
Sources close to the Syrian regime affirmed that the suicide kaboom targeted the famous security and intelligence center, Kafr Soussa, which includes the headquarters of several security, intelligence and police agencies. The attack resulted in the death of several military personnel including Colonel Haider and national defense officer Haytham Ismail, famed for taking a picture with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... , and also appearing in a short video with the President during his visit to eastern Ghouta in Damascus. Ismail had asserted that meeting the al-Assad had given him great moral support.
Colonel Haider was a resident of the Oued Ed Dahab valley in the Syrian province of Homs. It is still unknown whether the blast targeted him personally, due to his rank in the intelligence wing of al-Assad. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... no party has grabbed credit for the bombing that resulted in the death of 8 to 11 people.
Social media pages loyal to the Assad regime, paid tribute to the dead Colonel, noting that he has been promoted posthumously to Brigadier. No promotion ceremony is planned. No cake, no punch, no two-hour lunch. It's just not the same.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... " (ISIS) reportedly carried out the execution of a woman and her four children in Iraq's Kirkuk this week, a security source al-Manar today.
According to al-Manar, the Islamic State terrorist set fire on the mother and her four children for the "crime" of attempting to the leave the "caliphate."
Media reports confirmed that ISISbully boyz locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! the family, composed of a mother, three girls and one boy, on the Himreen Highway in northwest Iraq, and burnt them in front of other displaced civilians.
This heinous execution is just one of the documented crimes committed by the Islamic State this year and one of the many committed in Iraq and Syria.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army's newly formed 5th Legion has arrived in the western countryside of Palmyra, a military source told al-Masdar News on Friday.
The 5th Legion will be participating in the long-awaited east Homs offensive to liberate the gas fields north of Palmyra from the so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and al-Sham" (ISIS).
According to an al-Masdar field correspondent in Damascus, this east Homs offensive will be led by the 800th Battalion of the Elite Republican Guard and Shaheen Group of the Tiger Forces; these units are already at the T-4 Military Airport.
The 5th Legion was formed several months ago by the Russian military in order to fulfill a manpower need for the Syrian Arab Army.
With the nationwide ceasefire mostly holding around the country, the Syrian Arab Army can now concentrate on the Islamic State turbans occupying much of the eastern countryside of Syria.
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[YALIBNAN] Its is widely believed that Israel has targeted the positions and weapons shipments of Leb’s Hezbollah group in its Friday attack against Syria.
Syria accused Israel of firing missiles early on Friday that struck near a major military airport west of Damascus, sparking a fire, and warned Israel of repercussions without specifying whether it would retaliate for the attack.
Several missiles were reportedly fired shortly after midnight from an area in the vicinity of Israel’s Lake Tiberias, according to Syrian military statement. The rockets fell near the Mezzeh military airport, which has been used to launch attacks on rebel-held areas near Damascus and has been attacked by rebels in the past, according to the military. The incident marked the third such recent Israeli strike in Syria, the statement said. The Syrian military warned of repercussions.
Israel’s main concern in Syria has been to target the supply lines of Hezbollah
The Iran-backed group, which fought a war with Israel in 2006, has sent thousands of fighter to Syria in support of President Assad’s forces.
Last November, the Syrian army said Israeli jets fired two missiles on an area west of the capital, close to the Damascus Beirut-highway, in an attack mounted from Lebanese air space.
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#1
1. What attack?
2. Consider the alternative target?
3. Could Hezbollah not ever be the reason for attack
4. nothing on interfax
5. Right to defend over your right to annihilate
6. Missiles, not BS rockets torn from the water system
7. Operatives, many shia Iran "advisors" and missiles.
8. This will NEVER be permitted.
9. No apology
10. Let them do it again and you will NOT HAVE AN AIRPORT.
It's not too likely without him, either. I dunno, I'd like to try it and see...
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... still believes a united and peaceful Syria is impossible with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... but wants to proceed "step-by-step" and see the outcome of planned peace talks in Astana, President Tayyip Erdogan’s front man said on Friday.
"Our position on Assad is clear. We don’t believe that a united, peaceful Syria will be possible with Assad remaining in power. But we will see how Astana talks go, we want to go step by step at this point," Turkish presidential front man Ibrahim Kalin said.
Speaking to news hounds at a roundtable in Ankara, Kalin said fighting in Syria had largely stopped over the past two weeks under a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey.
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[NBCNEWS] A U.S. Arclight airstrike in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... killed a senior al Qaeda leader in the Arabian peninsula, the Department of Defense said in a statement on Friday. Abd al-Ghani al-Rasas, a terrorist leader in the region, died during an Arclight airstrike in a remote area of al Bayda Governorate in Yemen, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s parliament has approved three more items from a controversial constitutional amendment draft in late-night voting sessions on Jan. 12 and early Jan. 13, reducing many of the legislature’s own powers in favor of strengthening the president.
The politicians discussed items regarding the duties and authorities of the president, the prerequisites for being a presidential candidate and restrictions on parliament’s ability to exercise oversight, voting in favor of all three during the sessions.
Article 6 on the supervisory authority of parliament was approved by politicians by a score of 343 to 137.
The article will revise parliament’s duty and authority to obtain and control information. If the article ultimately becomes law, parliament will only be able to ask for information, hold general meetings to discuss a subject related to state actions and submit a written question for ministers to answer. According to the article, parliament will no longer be able to issue motions of no confidence.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Yemeni forces including the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militia, clashed with Saudi mercenaries as the latter seized the al-Zabab region of southern Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and hilltops that overlook the al-Amri military base, Yemen 24 reported.
In the ensuing battle, at least 11 Houthi fighters and eight turbans loyal to the former Yemeni government were killed, resulting in the Saudi-backed forces advancing towards Mokha, an imperative Red Sea port city on Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Bab al-Mandab Strait is an imperative choke hold that links the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean.
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#1
Saudi-backed forces advancing imperatively towards Mokha
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2017 9:46
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[Iran Press TV] Egypt says 10 Death Eaters linked to the ISISTakfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... terrorist group have been killed during a raid on one of their hideouts in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement that the Death Eaters opened fire on security forces as they drew nearer to their hideout in a deserted house in the city of el-Arish, the historic provincial capital and the largest city of North Sinai, on Friday.
According to the statement, the Death Eaters were linked to a holy warrior leader from Ansar Beit al-Maqdis who formed groups to attack security forces.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis is the former name of ISIS's local affiliate Velayat Sinai Takfiri terrorist group. In 2014, the outfit pledged allegiance to ISIS, which is mainly active in Iraq and Syria.
[AlAhram] Egyptian army forces killed one "jihadist" and placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... another during a raid on "one of the most dangerous terrorist hideouts" in North Sinai, army front man Tamer El-Rifaei announced in a statement on Friday.
El-Rifaei said thon the lam amounts of explosives were stored hideout, which was destroyed by army forces.
It was recently mentioned that U.S. Forces have dropped over 27,000 bombs on Syria and Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve, the Obama administration's campaign against ISIS. Given the current controversies over the reliability of and possible political motivations behind American intelligence assessments, let's look behind this figure to see what these munitions have bought the U.S. during the campaign, and whether we can count on the Obama administration's related claims about the war on ISIS or the claims of his intelligence community in general.
And the close:
We can draw only two reasonable conclusions from this analysis. One would be that American raw intelligence and analysis is so bad that ISIS strength is actually orders of magnitude greater than the original estimate made only a couple of years ago, in order for ISIS to have sustained the losses claimed and still be an effective fighting organization. The second much more likely answer is that the highly politicized Obama intelligence community has repeatedly lied as to the extent of ISIS losses in order to justify the half-hearted and confused campaign authorized by the president, as well as the highly restricted rules of engagement that limit the actual effectiveness of the bombing campaign.
This, of course, is the same intelligence community now claiming that the Russians effectively elected Donald Trump and feared Hillary Clinton. A house cleaning cannot come soon enough.
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
'This, of course, is the same intelligence community'
Former Director Leon Panetta:
Paraprhasing a bit: 'There was insufficient time to deploy a quick reaction force (QRF) to Benghazi.'
#2
One would be that American raw intelligence and analysis is so bad that ISIS strength is actually orders of magnitude greater than the original estimate... The second much more likely answer is that the highly politicized Obama intelligence community has repeatedly lied as to the extent of ISIS losses
[Iran Press TV] The mufti of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the occupied Paleostinian territories, Muhammed Hussein, says plans by US President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... to transfer the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds is an "assault" on Moslems.
The grand mufti made the remarks in a sermon at al-Aqsa Mosque in Old City on Friday.
"The pledge to move the embassy is not just an assault against Paleostinians but against Arabs and Moslems, who will not remain silent," Hussein said.
"The transfer of the embassy violates international charters and norms which recognize Jerusalem [al-Quds] as an occupied city," Hussein said, avoiding mentioning Trump by name.
On January 10, Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Paleostinian official and Fatah central committee member, called for Moslem and Christian worshipers across the Middle East to protest against Trump's plan. He called for prayers at mosques throughout the Middle East on Friday as well as for churches to ring their bells in protest on Sunday.
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
Moslems are an assault to all Jews and especially Israel. And all of Civilization I may add.
The Al Aqsa is an upside down toilet bowl. You have no claim to this Land, Get OUT.
[Libya Herald] Members of the House of Representatives (HoR) who fully support the UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) and its Government of National Accord (GNA), signed in the Moroccan city of Skhirat in December 2015, have set up a branch of the HoR in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... These are mainly the HoR members who support the GNA and have been trying for a year to organize a quorum in Tobruk to approve Prime Minister-designate Faiez Serraj and his designated GNA.
News of this first broke early this morning when the first of the Ministry of Tourism’s employees turned up for work and noticed the long banner ‐ in Arabic and English ‐ on the side of their Ministry’s building. The Ministry of Tourism in Tripoli is located adjacent to the main entrance of Tripoli port.
The banner was apparently put up without official notification to the Tourism Ministry under the cover of darkness last night. This morning, a number of Tourism Ministry employees organized a small protest outside the building in front of the banner. They objected to the banner being put up, protesting the ’’takeover’’ of their building.
They later released a statement (on plain paper, unsigned or stamped) of condemnation and called for the powers to be to take corrective action. It later transpired that a whole floor of their large building was to be taken over by the HoR. The banner was partly folded over obscuring its message in later photos issued by the Ministry of Tourism.
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[FOX] The criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton is back front and center now that the FBI has released proof that her failure to safeguard state secrets caused the secrets to fall into the hands of foreign governments, some of which wish the United States ill.
Even though the case against her -- which was closed and then reopened and then closed again -- is old news and she obviously is no longer a candidate to become president of the United States and has been staying below the radar for the past two months, recent developments have regenerated the case.
Here is the back story.
On July 5, FBI Director James Comey announced publicly that the FBI would recommend against seeking an indictment of Clinton for espionage -- the failure to safeguard state secrets that had been entrusted to her. He argued that though the case against her was strong -- as secretary of state, she had been extremely careless with secrets; exposed hundreds of materials that were confidential, secret and top-secret; and used non-secure mobile devices while in the territory of hostile governments -- no reasonable prosecutor would take the case.
Why was the decision of whether to prosecute Clinton left to Comey?
"The FBI's authority to investigate threats to the national security derives from the executive order concerning U.S. intelligence activities, from delegations of functions by the Attorney General, and from various statutory sources. See, e.g., E.O. 12333; 50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. These Guidelines (Part VII.S) specifically define threats to the national security to mean: international terrorism; espionage and other intelligence activities, sabotage, and assassination, conducted by, for, or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations, or persons; foreign computer intrusion; and other matters determined by the Attorney General, consistent with Executive Order 12333 or any successor order."
Comey's actions were very much associated with the AG Lynch, ergo xPOTUS.
It would seem that multiple 'stand down' directives didn't stick.
One more week. [REUTERS] A day after President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... encouraged supporters to "Buy L.L. Bean," a U.S. ethics watchdog on Friday warned federal employees they must not endorse products or companies.
The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) said on its official Twitter account: "All executive branch employees must refrain from misuse of position, including endorsements."
No mention of Trump was made in the tweet, and many rules for federal employees do not apply to the president. The ethics office has tweeted other reminders to employees this week, including one that federal gift restrictions remain in place during the upcoming inauguration.
The office's endorsements message drew attention on Twitter, though, because it came after Trump posted support for the Maine catalog retailer known for its backpacks and rubber-bottomed boots.
Activists had called for a boycott following reports that a member of the family that owns L.L. Bean contributed to Trump's campaign.
"Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L. Bean for your great support and courage," the Republican president-elect tweeted. "People will support you even more now. Buy L.L. Bean."
A front man for the ethics office declined to comment.
The office, created in 1978, wades through financial disclosures to help executive branch officials avoid conflicts of interest. It has drawn attention and some scrutiny for recent public statements about ethics issues facing Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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#1
" While Trump’s statements were offensive to women, they pale in comparison to the loud chorus of rappers’ filth and denigration of women that Michelle and Barack Obama have continually promoted, championed, wined and dined at the White House. And, while she has condemned Trump’s lewd remarks – including how “loving fathers are sickened by the thought of their daughters being exposed to this kind of vicious language” – the Obamas have hosted in the “The People’s House,” where their two daughters reside, rappers who obscenely rap about date rape and sexual predatory behavior." Paul Craig Roberts
#2
U.S. ethics watchdog on Friday warned federal employees
The President-Elect is an employee now, answering to their bureaucratic whims as well, how quaint.
#3
He's an employee of the People of the United States. His only sanctions are those determined by his employer (as witness by the previous 8 years of uncontrolled behaviors). Therefore, he is not subject to the opinion of the OGE* (anymore than "pay to play" endorsements from a former Secty of State).
Ethics? The office is an oxymoron after this current administration's long list of abuses; Contempt of Congress, lying to Congress, etc.
#7
Make some appointee the official mouth of Sauron so that whatever that appointee says/tweets is assumed to be the direct word of Trump and let the usual folks go into conniptions.
"A president can't say that!"
"He didn't, the mouth did!"
"We all know the mouth speaks for him!"
"Conspiracy much?"
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two Chinese nationals of Uighur origin were tossed in the calaboose I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! on Friday for suspected links to the mass shooting in an Istanbul lounge on New Year's Eve, state-run Anadolu agency said.
Two suspects, Omar Asim and Abuliezi Abuduhamiti, who are Chinese citizens, were remanded in jug on charges of being members of an armed terrorist organization, and aiding in 39 counts of murder.
Turkish authorities last week said the man who killed 39 people in an attack on an Istanbul lounge was probably an ethnic Uighur.
ISIS has grabbed credit for the attack, saying it was Dire Revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.
Anadolu news agency also said 35 people were tossed into the calaboose so far in relation to the attack. Uighurs were among those detained, local media reports said.
The Uighurs are a largely Moslem, Turkic-speaking minority in far western China with significant diaspora communities across Central Asia and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... The suspect, who authorities have not named, shot his way into exclusive Istanbul lounge Reina and opened fire with an automatic rifle, throwing stun grenades to allow himself to reload and shooting the maimed on the ground.
Among those killed in the attack were Turks and visitors from several Arab nations, India and Canada.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[Iran Press TV] Mexico says it should react "immediately" by imposing its own taxes if US President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... moves to fulfill his promised border tax on Mexican imports.
Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, has threatened to impose heavy tax on companies that have moved their production, fully or partially, to Mexico and ship their products back to the United States.
The measure could hinder Mexico's exports to its top trading partner and deter foreign companies from investing in the Latin American country.
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday, "It is clear we need to be prepared to immediately neutralize the impact of such a measure."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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#1
Gee, no thought to ending the illegal immigrant highway? Those expedite tolls must bring in a heck of a lot of graft to keep it rolling.
#2
graft and remittance income to be spent by families in Mexico. They need to quit exporting their problems and fix them. First they can explain why a Mexican wall on their Central American border is OK, but not a northern one
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2017 10:25
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#3
remittance is guessed to be 1/3rd their economy. That is the safety valve against revolution/political reform. Could do Mexico some good to be forced to fix things.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs suffered heavy casualties during an operation of the Afghan cops in western Nimroz province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Thursday.
According to a statement by MoI, at least 80 Taliban forces of Evil were killed and two large Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factories were destroyed during the operation.
The statement further added that the gunnies suffered casualties during the operations which were launched ten days ago in Khashrud district.
According to MoI, a compound used by the shadow district governor of the Taliban was also destroyed during the operations and at least 20 foreign forces of Evil were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[Libya Herald] Moves by members of the House of Representatives (HoR) who support the Libyan Political Agreement to set up their own parliament based in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... have been condemned by the HoR in Tobruk. In statement, it said that the move was illegal and warned public institutions against having any dealings with it.
Yesterday, pro-LNA members took over the tourism ministry headquarters by the port, putting up a notice that it was now the HoR headquarters, based in Tripoli.
The tourism ministry takeover has angered local employees, who are now threatening to go on strike. Such a move, however, is unlikely to have effect since there is no tourism in Libya.
It is not clear which members are behind the move. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... is seen as yet another example of Libya’s deepening divisions.
It happened just as the former Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... regime led by Khalifa Ghwell took over at least four other ministries in the capital, claiming that they were now under his authority.
The tourism ministry takeover has angered local employees, who are now threatening to go on strike. Such a move, however, is unlikely to have effect since there is no tourism in Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] GWADAR: Bullet-riddled bodies of two people, kidnapped from Kech and Panjgur districts last week, were found on Thursday.
According to official sources, one of the corpses was found in the Kathreenz area near Mand of Kech district.
Personnel of the local administration and Levies force inspected the place and oversaw the transfer of the body to a government hospital.
The man was identified as Azad, son of Chakar.
"The victim was kidnapped last week by some gunnies," a senior Levies officer said, adding that bullets were pumped into his head and chest.
The other body was found in the Keelkaor area of Panjgur.
Levies personnel shifted it to the district hospital. He was identified as Behram, son of Khuda Bakhsh. "Behram was kidnapped by gunnies a week ago from Panjgur," Levies officials said, adding that multiple bullet wounds were found on the body.
The cause of the killing could not be known. No one grabbed credit for their kidnapping and killing.
The Levies began an investigation into the incidents.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday reiterated that Pakistain does not allow its territory to be used for attacks in any other country, Radio Pakistain reported.
The FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria strongly rejected claims regarding allegations of terrorist safe havens in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas while responding to media queries, adding that Pakistain has lost thousands of its citizens and suffered economic losses of over $100 billion due to terrorism.
The United States (US) endorsed Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... ’s claim that the existence of safe havens in Fata allowed Lions of Islam to carry out attacks inside Afghanistan whenever they want following twin suicide kabooms near the Afghan parliament earlier this week.
The blasts killed scores of people. A separate blast in Kandahar maimed the UAE Ambassador Juma Mohammed Abdullah Al Kaabi and some other diplomats.
Soon after the blasts, a government front man in Kabul said the Lions of Islam were able to strike targets inside Afghanistan whenever they wanted because Pakistain had allowed them to maintain safe havens in Fata, a charge Islamabad rejects as baseless.
US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner had said that Pakistain had made "some progress" and had taken "some steps to address these safe havens, but clearly the problem persists".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[Ynet] Spanish police have locked away Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! three people accused of connections with Islamist krazed killers, the Interior Ministry said on Friday, two in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta and a third in the northern town of Figueras.
The two detained had been through a long radicalisation process and formed part of a group which was thought to be at an advanced stage of preparation for potential attacks, it said. Police, searching six locations in relation to the arrests, found one gun and three non-firing weapons, the ministry said, though it did not elaborate.
Separately, the ministry said later on Friday that police had detained a Moroccan man with Dutch papers accused of belonging to ISIS and who may have returned to Spain from a conflict zone within the last couple of days.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#2
Thank you for the heads up, Bright Pebbles. The Daily Mail has an article started -- it'll be posted for tomorrow. Hopefully by then more will be known.
#3
So, if the Europeans spend all this effort trying to fight Islamic terrorism, why do they put so much diplomatic effort into hammering Israel?
(Just curious if there's a logical reason here...)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/14/2017 18:20
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Belgian police detained three people for questioning after carrying out house searches in Brussels that were related to an anti-terrorism investigation, prosecutors said on Saturday.
The house searches were carried out in the Brussels district of Molenbeek, which gained international attention when locals with links to Syria took part in the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris.
"The searches were carried out as part of an investigation by Brussels prosecutors," a spokeswoman for Brussels prosecutors said. "While nothing was found, three people were taken in for questioning."
The area where the searches took place was closed off to traffic as special police forces with machine guns moved in, a Reuters journalist said.
[NEWSWEEK] Thousands of Gazooks erupted into the streets on Thursday to protest crippling electricity shortages in the bitter winter weather.
An estimated 10,000-strong crowd began the march at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gazoo Strip and headed towards the offices of an electricity company, in one of the largest displays of unrest in the territory since Paleostinian holy warrior group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, took control in 2007.
Protesters directed their anger towards Paleostinian politicians: the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , President of the Paleostinian Authority, and Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... , Hamas’s leader in Gazoo, shouting: "Oh, Haniyeh and Abbas, we are being trampled!" according to eyewitnesses, the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported. They burned tires and threw stones outside the electricity company offices.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
You could, maybe, learn how to keep it running yourselves
you lazy, hateful, nihilistic, useless, motherf###ers
Make a state or Vacate.
You do not care about this place at all.
[IsraelTimes] Algeria has reportedly uncovered a spy ring, including members of several nationalities, working for Israel, media reports said Friday.
According to Arab media reports cited by Hebrew language media, the spy network included 10 people and was uncovered in the city of Ghardaïa in southern Algeria. Among members of the network were people with passports from Libya, Mali, Æthiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Kenya.
The Algerian reports came a month after Israel was accused by Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", of assassinating a Tunisian drone engineer who was working for the terror group.
In the new incident, Ynet said Algerian security forces claimed to have uncovered sophisticated communications systems used by the spies to transfer information.
The detainees were being held under arrest and accused of espionage, conspiring to create anarchy and harm the state and damaging state security.
[Stripes.com] The head of the D.C. National Guard, Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, said Friday that he has been ordered removed from his command effective Jan. 20, 12:01 p.m., just as Donald Trump is sworn in as president.
Schwartz's forced departure will come in the midst of the presidential inauguration that he has spent months helping plan alongside D.C. police, the U.S. Secret Service and other top District of Columbia officials. He will turn over command to an interim as power transfers from one president to the next, and just before the inaugural parade marches down Pennsylvania Avenue.
"The timing is extremely unusual," Schwartz said in an interview Friday morning, confirming a memo announcing his ouster that was obtained by The Washington Post. During the inauguration, Schwartz would command not only the members of the D.C. guard but also an additional 5,000 troops sent in from across the country to help. He also would oversee military air support protecting the nation's capital during the inauguration.
"My troops will be on the street," Schwartz, 65, said. "I'll see them off but I won't be able to welcome them back to the armory." He said that he would "never plan to leave a mission in the middle of a battle."
WTF?! Continues at link.
Nothing personal General Schwartz, could be inclement weather, flooding, pestilence, polio. We're bringing in 5000 augmentees and the 'A Team' leadership package from Fort Bragg.
There's a back story here, I wonder what it is...
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
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#1
"I'm a soldier," he said, noting that he was following orders and has no regrets. "I'm a presidential appointee, therefore the president (has) the power to remove me."
A replay of the Benghazi strategy, remove the objectors? I expect some tussles, but not a NG standown or coup.
#2
If I recall correctly, there was some controversy over D.C. Guard M.A.S.H. unit(s) during the Second Gulf War. Seems their mobilization was impeded when inventories of SKO (Sets, Kits, and Outfits) revealed empty containers.
Reliability may be an issue, especially if you've up to 5000 augmentees and Active Component troops participating. It has not been uncommon to see units mobilized and deployed as such or as fillers for AC units, with their flags (Command & Staff) sent elsewhere.
#3
Most state Adjutant Generals (NG Commander title) are appointed by the governor. They serve at the governors discretion. When the governor leaves, it is customary to submit one's resignation, similar to what department Secretaries are suppose to do when a new president assumes office at the federal level.
Since DC is not a state, it has no governor. The senior executive is the President. The office is his to fill.
#5
Curious. Personally I'm looking forward to plenty of SJW tasing videos coming out of Inaguration Day.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
01/14/2017 9:09
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#6
The WaPo seems to be in the middle of re-writing their original article. To wit:
Two military officials with knowledge of the situation said the Trump team decided to accept the resignation. A person close to the transition said transition officials wanted to keep Schwartz in the job for continuity, but the Army pushed to replace him.
#11
If the Army wanted him out, then this is even more curious than I had thought. So, he was to oversee the DC Guard, an 'additional 5,000 troops from around the country', and the military air support. I find this quite unusual.
He lost the confidence of someone. Wonder wko? The back story awaits.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/14/2017 13:37
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#12
This too is interesting:
Schwartz said that he is most proud of the Youth Challenge Academy, a school for teenage dropouts run by the guard with an infusion of federal money that is separate from both D.C. public and charter schools. It is located at the former Oak Hill facility, the District of Columbia's old juvenile jail.
#13
The media is manufacturing a story. President Obama told all of his political appointees to submit their resignation letter that had to be effective before Trump takes office. Schwartz is a political appointee. Also under US law, major generals are required to retire, 1 month after their 64th birthday. Schwartz turned 65 in October 2016 per WaPo, so he should have retired by December 1st, 2015.
#14
Some links for my previous comment: Last paragraph in the post-election transition period section
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/10/fact-sheet-facilitating-smooth-transition-next-administration
Mandatory retirement age link:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/1253
[REUTERS] Iraqi special forces stormed a sprawling university complex in northeast djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Friday and pushed Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... back in nearby areas to reach two more bridges across the Tigris River, the military said.
The faceless myrmidons were fighting back at Mosul University, which they seized when they took over the city in 2014. A Rootersnews hound saw heavy festivities inside the campus.
Iraqi forces have now recaptured most districts in eastern Mosul, nearly three months into a U.S.-backed offensive, which accelerated at the turn of the year with new tactics and better coordination.
They aim to take full control of the eastern bank of the Tigris, which bisects Mosul from north to south, before launching attacks on the western side still fully in Islamic State hands.
Driving the ultra-hardline Islamist group out of its Mosul stronghold will probably spell the end for the Iraqi side of the caliphate it declared in 2014 which stretches into Syria.
By late on Friday, elite Iraqi forces had taken control of part of the university complex and reached two more of the five bridges that link east and west Mosul, said Sabah al-Numan, front man for the counter-terrorism service (CTS).
"God willing, in a very short while we will announce the clearing of the entire left bank ... There are not many areas left (under IS control) on this bank," he told state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Iraqi forces have now reached Mosul's three southernmost bridges, having battled their way to the Fourth Bridge several days ago.
The U.S.-led coalition that is backing the offensive with air strikes, training and advice praised Friday's advances.
"Work still needs to be done, but ISIS's days in Mosul are quickly coming to an end," U.S. Air Force Colonel John Dorrian said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS and ISIS.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[FrontPageMagazine] Seen from above, the 2016 electoral map of New York City is blue with dots of red. Trump’s home district is blue, but across the water a red wedge slices into Brooklyn. Around that red wedge are districts where Hillary won 90 percent of the vote and Trump was lucky to get 5 percent. Inside it, he beat her in district after district.
The voters who handed him that victory are the Chassidic Jews of Williamsburg who dress in fur hats and black caftans. Their districts, crammed in by hipsters and minorities, are a world away from the progressive activist temples whose clergy went into mourning at Hillary’s loss.
East of Prospect Park, in a vast sea of blue, is what looks like a red sofa. Trump won here with the Chabad Chassidim of Crown Heights. He won in the more mainstream Orthodox Jewish communities of Flatbush. He won by huge margins among the Russian Jewish immigrants of Brighton Beach who listen to a man dubbed the “Russian Rush Limbaugh.”
As the left-wing Forward put it, “Nearly every election district that Trump won in Brooklyn was in a Jewish neighborhood.” But it was a certain type of Jewish neighborhood. The wrong type.
“You can compare them to Rust Belt voters,” a Forward source states. “They are hardworking people, not college educated.”
And then in Far Rockaway where the housing projects by the beach give way to the red Orthodox Jewish communities that extend into Long Island.
There’s a line that recurs again and again in the attacks on David Friedman; the man picked by President-elect Trump to serve as the ambassador to Israel. It’s not stated openly. It’s implied.
“David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer from Long Island,” is the sneering summary.
Remnick, the New Yorker’s left-wing editor, took the sneering to a new level, titling his smear as “Trump’s Daily Bankruptcy.” Jewish identity, he declares, has never been a matter of “bankruptcy law.”
To a certain class of elites, it is self-evidently absurd that a bankruptcy lawyer from Long Island be appointed to anything or be listened to about anything. David Remnick is a Washington Post man married to a New York Times woman who went on to inherit the editorship of the New Yorker and turn it into a left-wing echo chamber. He lives in a $3.25 million four-bedroom Manhattan apartment with a wood-burning fireplace.
And David Friedman is the Orthodox son of a Rabbi from Woodmere who still lives there. His father was a Republican who hosted President Reagan. He might occasionally be allowed to read the New Yorker.
And that’s about it.
Yet it’s hard to think of anything that might recommend Friedman more to Trump. More at the link
Though president has not said he wants to join, some members have cited his policies on Israel as grounds for rejection, leading another to threaten a mass exodus if he is blocked.
[Ynet] Three jacket wallahs went kaboom! at a checkpoint where scores of people were being searched for a bustling weekly market Friday in Nigeria's northeastern town of Madagali, witnesses said. The blasts killed two self-defense fighters who wanted to search them.
Their challenge likely saved many lives. In December, two women suicide bombers killed 57 people and maimed 177, including 120 children, at Madagali market. Last week, three girl suicide bombers were killed on the outskirts of the same town.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Jaish al-Islam ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful... (Army of Islam) refused to send reinforcements to bail out their comrades under attack in Hawsh al-Zriqiyah on Friday night, resulting in the Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) subsequent capture of this village just 24 hours after they launched the assault.
Led by the 105th Brigade of the Elite Republican Guard, the Syrian Arab Army attempted to divert Jaish al-Islam's forces from the strategic town of Hazrama to the small village of Hawsh al-Zriqiyah; however, the aforementioned Islamist group did not take the bait.
The Syrian Arab Army's capture of Hawsh al-Zriqiyah on Friday paved the way for their forces flank the strategic hilltop of Tal Ferzat in the East Ghouta region.
If Tal Ferzat falls to the Syrian Arab Army in the coming hours, then Jaish al-Islam will be forced to retreat from al-Nashabiyah because they will be in range of Syrian Army artillery.
As of now, the Syrian Arab Army is storming Tal Ferzat from two different sides, while their allies from the Paleostine Liberation Army (PLA) attempt to advance towards al-Nashabiyah.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] International Sherlocks have said for the first time that they suspect Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... and his brother are responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, according to a document seen by Rooters.
A joint inquiry for the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... and global watchdog the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had previously identified only military units and did not name any commanders or officials.
Now a list has been produced of individuals whom the Sherlocks have linked to a series of chlorine kabooms in 2014-15 - including Assad, his younger brother Maher and other high-ranking figures - indicating the decision to use toxic weapons came from the very top, according to a source familiar with the inquiry.
The Assads could not be reached for comment but a Syrian government official said accusations that government forces had used chemical weapons had "no basis in truth". The government has repeatedly denied using such weapons during the civil war, which is almost six years old, saying all the attacks highlighted by the inquiry were the work of rebels or the ISIS.
The list, which has been seen by Rooters but has not been made public, was based on a combination of evidence compiled by the UN-OPCW team in Syria and information from Western and regional intelligence agencies, according to the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Rooters was unable to independently review the evidence or to verify it.
The UN-OPCW inquiry - known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) - is led by a panel of three independent experts, supported by a team of technical and administrative staff. It is mandated by the UN Security Council to identify individuals and organizations responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.
Virginia Gamba, the head of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, denied any list of individual suspects had yet been compiled by the inquiry.
"There are no ... identification of individuals being considered at this time," she told Rooters by email.
The use of chemical weapons is banned under international law and could constitute a war crime.
While the inquiry has no judicial powers, any naming of suspects could lead to their prosecution. Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), but alleged war crimes could be referred to the court by the Security Council - although splits among global powers over the war make this a distant prospect at present.
"The ICC is concerned about any country where crimes are reported to be committed," a front man for the court said when asked for comment. "Unless Syria accepts the ICC jurisdiction, the only way that (the) ICC would have jurisdiction over the situation would be through a referral by the Security Council."
The list seen by Rooters could form the basis for the inquiry team’s investigations this year, according to the source. It is unclear whether the United Nations or OPCW will publish the list separately.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2017
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[ZDNET] The Internet Archive has released a Wayback Machine extension for Chrome that will automatically take users to an archived copy when they hit a dead webpage.
Once installed on Chrome, whenever a link returns a 404 error message or 'page not found', the Wayback Machine extension will search the Wayback Machine web archives to see if an older version is available. If one is, users will see a notice offering the option to visit the archived copy.
Not much can be done to stop the growth of so-called 'link rot', or once-working URLs that no longer go anywhere, but as Mark Graham, co-founder of the Internet Archive, notes, the extension will help temper its effects.
"For the past 20 years, the Internet Archive has recorded and preserved webpages, and hundreds of billions of them are available via the Wayback Machine. This is good because we are learning the web is fragile and ephemeral," Graham writes.
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[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] A former British ambassador to Russia played a key role in American intelligence agencies receiving explosive allegations about Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... and the Kremlin. Kinda makes you wonder why, dunnit?
The Independent has learned that US Senator John Maverick McCain ... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... spoke to Sir Andrew Wood, who served in Moscow as the UK’s head of mission for five years, about claims that the US President-elect was susceptible to blackmail over alleged sexual activity and that his team had colluded with Moscow during the presidential election campaign. Wood was the Brit ambassador to Moscow 1995-2000, which wouldn't seem to have an awful lot of overlap with either the Obama years or Trump's campaign.
John Major (Conservative) was the prime minister until 1997, followed by Labour third wayer Tony Blair. Are Britain's ambassadors senior bureaucrats-- therefore Guardian-reading Labourites -- or are they friends of the PM like so many American ambassadors, and therefore presumed to be members of the head guy's party?
The meeting took place at an international security conference in Halifax, Canada, last November, after Mr Trump’s victory. There, Mr McCain sought the advice of Sir Andrew, a highly respected retired diplomat, on a dossier which was put together by Remington Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer, about Mr Trump and the Moscow connection. "Oh, Sir Andrew! Oh, wot shall I do? Oh, wot shall I do?" Is Remington Christopher Steele a super-spy or a dodgy dossier writer?
Mr McCain, the chair of the Senate armed forces committee, was so concerned by what he had heard that he personally met James Comey, the director of the FBI, after returning from the Canadian conference, and passed on the information. It formed part of a report about Russian interference in the US presidential election process which was presented to Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... and Mr Trump by the intelligence agencies last week.
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01/14/2017
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#1
"All the members of our country club agree that"
#2
According to Sir Andrew's Wikipedia page, he spent his emtire career moving up the foreign office ladder, achieving a bureacratic knightship at the end. So definitely a member of g(r)omgoru's country club, and likely a pristine example in nature of what art presents in Yes, Minister -- of which that bit is only the first example.
#3
There, Mr McCain sought the advice of Sir Andrew, a highly respected retired diplomat, on a dossier which was put together by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer, about Mr Trump and the Moscow connection.
A 'former UK ambassador' just happened to bump into McCain did he ?
From the Telegraph: On Thursday Russia publicly accused MI6 of “briefing both ways” against Russia and Mr Trump and suggested Mr Steele was still working for the Secret Intelligence Service.
The Russian embassy in London used its official Twitter account to say: “Christopher Steele story: MI6 officers are never ex: briefing both ways – against Russia and US President.” Link
#4
The things I don't think of. It turns out entire seasons of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister are available on YouTube. So we'll be able to avoid even more of the regular programming for a bit, as I ponder the task President Trump and his team will face. I hope defanging the union will be a first step, like Governor Walker did and Governor Kasich did not.
#5
Sir Andrew, I don't care what you think of Steele. You will bloody well attend the Halifax conference and have a good time. We'll be looking forward to your trip report.
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The federal government has rejected the Sindh government’s request for taking action against certain "suspected" seminaries, describing the information provided in this regard by the provincial authorities as "insufficient, ambiguous and without any credible evidence".
Through a letter, the interior ministry has instead asked the Sindh government to inform the federal government of the action the provincial authorities have so far taken against the "suspected" seminaries, if it has any concrete evidence against them because taking action against such elements falls in the domain of the provincial governments.
"If there was any concrete evidence available against the people affiliated with these seminaries, then what action the provincial government, police and other law enforcement agencies have taken against them?" asked the letter whose contents in Urdu were released to the media by the ministry here on Thursday.
Talking to news hounds in his Parliament House chambers, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... had disclosed that the Sindh government, through a letter written to his ministry, had sought proscription of 94 ’suspected’ religious seminaries.
Terming the provincial government’s move "ridiculous", the minister had stated that it was for the provinces to take action against the suspected religious seminaries. He had also regretted that before the letter had reached the interior ministry, the Sindh chief minister had made a statement about it.
In its reply to the provincial government, the interior ministry has alleged that the "incomplete information" and "ambiguous language" of the Sindh government’s communication gives the impression that the letter has been written by the provincial authorities "with some political motives and to hide their own lapses" in the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.
Through the letter, the interior ministry has regretted that the list provided by the provincial authorities does not have complete addresses of the "suspected seminaries", and even has the names of seminaries in other provinces, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... and Fata.
"The Sindh government’s request for action against the seminaries functioning outside its administrative control and outside its geographical boundaries and without any concrete evidence in incomprehensible," says the letter, which adds: "Apparently, it seems that the provincial authorities have not fully studied the legal requirements for proscribing any organization." The ministry has "advised" the Sindh government "to remain confined to its geographical limits" and provide "credible" information, keeping in mind that "every action against seminaries requires legal justification".
The interior minister has been facing criticism from leaders of the main opposition Pakistain People’s Party, which is the ruling party in Sindh, for the past many months over his alleged failure to fully implement the NAP against terrorism.
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[Iran Press TV] Outgoing US President Barack Obama It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person.... has eased some of the economic sanctions imposed against Sudan, aiming to improve relations with the Islamic country.
Obama signed an executive order on Friday to ease but not eliminate some trade and investment sanctions against Khartoum, arguing that the East African country has shown "a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas."
The outgoing president expressed determination that the situation which led the US to impose and continue 20-year-long sanctions had changed in light of Sudan's "positive actions" over the last six months.
"These actions include a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, and steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, as well as cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism," Obama said.
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Israel is trying to drum up support for Sudan within the international community, after the African country, which has faced severe criticism for its human rights record, severed its ties to Iran. Israeli and American diplomats met last week to discuss the issue. [I]in January (2016), Sudan joined Sunni Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and severed its ties with the Islamic Republic. At the time, the country also appeared to make overtures toward Israel.
Sudan had been hostile to the Jewish state since gaining independence from Britain in 1956, claiming that Israel occupies Arab lands. However, speaking on January 14 (2016) about an American move to demand Sudanese normalization of ties with Tel Aviv as a precondition for lifting sanctions on Khartoum, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said Sudan was open to the idea.
[Hurriyet Daily News] Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has once again slammed government-pushed constitutional amendments for a shift to a presidential system.
"I want to once again remind you that the presidency is not a post either for tyranny over the nation or for the unlimited ego of one person," Kilicdaroglu wrote on his official Twitter account on Jan. 13.
"No one should think that being elected gives them absolute and unlimited power. They should not think they have power over everybody and every institution," he added.
"[Presidents] should not try to declare as an enemy any opposition and anyone they see as an opponent. They should not try to crush them for their own survival," the CHP leader also stated.
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01/14/2017
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[PREMIUMTIMESNG] The Borno State government has banned the operation of brothels and alcohol parlours in the state, as part of measures to prevent attacks by Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... myrmidons.
The state government on Thursday said the sale of alcohol would now only be allowed in military barracks.
It also banned illegal motor parks as well chemical and patent medicine stores. Also prohibited was the operation of tricycles and unregistered vehicles for commuter services.
The ban was announced by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kaka Lawan, at a press briefing at the NUJ secretariat in Maiduguri.
According to the commissioner, the ban order was approved at a security council meeting where it was agreed that Boko Haram leveraged on such proscribed areas and illicit activities to carry out attacks.
Mr. Lawan said the state government has also proscribed the sale of firewood and charcoal along the streets of Maiduguri. Those involved in the business were instructed to relocate to registered locations provided for them.
The ban also affected illegal shanties and structures used as commercial centres. Their operators were instructed to relocate to recognised markets in Bolori, Abba Ganaram, Kano motor park and Gamboru areas.
The Attorney-General further said that all unregistered vehicles and tricycles are banned from operation. He said such vehicles were being used by criminal suspects, including Boko Haram myrmidons, to commit crime around the state.
He said despite the appreciable peace that has been achieved as a result of the ongoing counterinsurgency operations of the military, people were still using such outfits to promote crimes in the state.
"As a responsive government, we shall not fold our arms and watch some people destroy our society, especially where these activities are clearly regulated or outrightly banned by our laws.
"These activities include illegal operations of motor parks, chemists and patent medicine; illegal baby factories, brothels, sales of alcohol and illicit drugs, use of wrong number plates or unregistered vehicles", he said.
The Commissioner said the ban on alcohol is to be effected throughout the state starting January 20, while that of motor parks are to be effected in Maiduguri alone; and would commence on Monday January 17.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] The Syrian regime should conduct a military offensive in the al-Bab region instead of the Turkish army, according to Iran, a Turkish diplomat has told the Hurriyet Daily News.
"They are in the view that a combat against DEASH [Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant] should rather be conducted by the Syrian regime," the diplomat said, elaborating on discussions between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iranian officials regarding Syria.
"Iranians think that the Euphrates Shield Operation was not a proper step and that Turkey will not be able to reach its goals through this operation," said the diplomat. If Ankara abstains from military incursions into Syria, the Turkish army "will not be harmed," Iranian officials told their Turkish counterparts, according to the diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous.
Turkey is aware that Tehran is not "happy" with the Euphrates Shield Operation, since Tehran does not want to see a strong Turkish military campaign in both Syria and Iraq, the diplomat said, referring also to Turkish troops’ presence at the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq.
Tehran has put pressure on Iraq to force Turkey to withdraw.
Iran expects the Turkey military presence in Iraq and Syria to be terminated as soon as possible, the diplomat noted.
Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria on Aug. 24, 2016, in support of Syrian rebels to try to drive ISIS away from the border area, and has frequently carried out raids on suspected Death Eaters’ safe houses in Istanbul and other cities.
An Iranian-made unmanned drone was used in an attack on a Turkish military camp in northern Syria on Nov. 24, killing four soldiers, the Hurriyet Daily News reported earlier.
When Turkish officials raised the issue to their Iranian counterpart, Tehran said "they were not involved" in the attack, the diplomat said.
In September 2016, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi voiced Tehran’s concern over the Turkish troops’ deployment in northern Syria, and called for the swift pullout of Turkish forces from the region.
"Although the fight against terrorism and efforts to maintain regional stability and security are an unchangeable and important principle in the foreign policy of peace-seeking countries in the region, this issue cannot and should not be used as a justification for violating the territorial integrity of another country by conducting military operations against that country without coordination with its central government, and by overlooking its national illusory sovereignty," Qassemi
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01/14/2017
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The push will be on by this time next week to deregulate suppressors. I previously discussed suppressors here. I am not impressed with the arguments for or against them.
I think the manufacture and sale of suppressors should be severely deregulated. I doubt it will be the panacea that advocates expect, however. Rather, I think we will wind up with a lot of riflemen complaining about bullet drop and zeroing the weapon.
Prices for pistol ammunition were steady. Prices for rifle ammunition were steady to lower.
Prices for used pistols were mostly higher. Prices for used rifles were higher across the board.
New Lows:
None.
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2016)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .25 per round (From Last week: +.01 After Unchanged (9 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds:LAX Ammunition, Own brand, FSFP, Brass Casing, reloads, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .15 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: FedArm, Own Brand, TPMJ, Brass Casing, Reloads, .15 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (9 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel casing, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2016))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: -.03 Each
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Unlimited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .34 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Outdoor Unlimited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
7.62x39mm AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: -.03 Each Unchanged (5 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Wolf WPA, Steel Case, FMJ, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Wolf WPA, Steel Case, FMJ, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds (10 Box Limit): Natchez Shooters Suuply, Federal, RNL, .05 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds (2 Box Limit): Ammo King, Federal, RNL, .05 per round (From Last Week: -.01 After Unchanged (5 Weeks))
The former chair of the Democratic National Committee confronted FBI Director James Comey on Friday during a classified intelligence briefing.
The confidential briefing was focused on the Russian hacking of Democratic Party organization which was geared toward tilting the election to Donald Trump’s favor. Democrats left the meeting angered and ’outraged’ earlier on Friday.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz was forced to resign her post as chair of the DNC last summer amid the hacking scandal, told Comey that he should have come to her directly once the FBI was aware of the breach, just as he had done with other hacking victims.
Comey, who is described as being unflinching and defiant during the heated meeting, stuck to his guns claiming that the FBI had properly notified DNC officials of the hacking.
"You let us down!" one Demcorat reportedly yelled to Comey during the tense exchange. Another Demorat said that "Essentially Debbie asked, how was it that the FBI knew that the DNC was being hacked and they didn’t tell her? He gave some bullsh‐ explanation, ’That’s our standard, we called this one, we called that one’ -- [she said] ’Well, why didn’t you call me?'"
The meeting left many Democrats even more critical of Comey, accusing hiim of applying a double standard in the agency’s approach to investigations involving President-elect Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton." Continues at link.
Kindly recall Debbie, that the FBI asked to examine the DNC servers and you refused. Repeatedly...
The hotlink within the CitizenSlant.com article leads to another Citizen Slant article, and a web search using a key paragraph in each only points back to these articles.
As I understand the DNC and RNC are something of well funded support organizations of special interest groups with little more 'official standing' than social convention.
As such, a call from the FBI would be like warning the Shriners their clown cars needed seat belts.
[Libya Herald] A large group of eastern tribal leaders, elders, NGOs and political activists granted their full support for Presidency Council boycotting member Ali Gatrani as their ’’sole nomination and representative" for any future nominated Libyan government as a result of their trust in him and in view of his positions on supporting the army and security forces that are fighting terrorism’’.
The move, taken at an event in Benghazi yesterday, is seen as a pre-emptive move by Gatrani and his supporters in anticipation of the possible fall of Faiez Serraj as designated Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and head of the Presidency Council (PC) and a return to the earlier PC 1+2 format of one president of the PC and two deputies.
Gatrani is seen as Khalifa Hafter’s man on the PC and has in turn been boycotting the PC in opposition to article eight of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) which would take away the leadership of the Libyan National Army (LNA) from Khalifa Hafter.
It will be recalled that the PC 1+2 format was the initial formula agreed to in UNSMIL-led dialogue led initially by Bernardino Leon, prior to the arrival of Martin Kobler. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... it is reported that, paradoxically, it was HoR president Ageela Saleh that insisted on changing it to the current format of five.
However, ars longa, vita brevis... the present format has failed to work in spectacular fashion with PC member for the south Musa Koni resigning at the beginning of this month putting the whole LPA in danger of collapse.
Now, the HoR is pushing for a return to the 1+2 format. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... this entails a change to the 2015 Skhirat LPA. The LPA can only be changed by the Libyan Political Dialogue committee. The LPA in its full format last met in November 2016 in Malta. It had also met in Tunis in September and in July 2016.
A slimmed down Libyan-only version of the Dialogue committee attempted to meet in Ghadames last Wednesday and is planning to meet in Tunis next Wednesday with the 1+2 format as one of the items on its agenda. It is yet to be seen if the Libyan-only Tunis meeting materializes or indeed succeeds without PC/GNA and international community support.
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[Libya Observer] Foreign ministry of the interim government in east Libya has regarded the reopening of the Italian embassy and return of Italian ambassador Giuseppe Perrone to Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... as a military offensive.
The government, headed by Abdullah al-Thanni, sent a "very urgent" diplomatic note on Wednesday to all Libyan embassies and consulates abroad to inform them about what it called "the military return of the Italian embassy to the capital."
"An Italian military vessel loaded with soldiers and ammunition has entered the Libyan territorial waters. It is a clear violation of UN charter and a form of repeated aggression." The note read.
Ambassador Perrone submitted his credentials in Tripoli on Tuesday to mark the reopening of his country’s embassy in the Libyan capital.
A number of political commentators have deplored the hostile language in the diplomatic note of al-Thanni government, saying its denouncement of the entry of the Italian military vessel is double standards.
"The Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, entered the Libyan territorial waters and was visited by General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... without any comments from the interim government," a political commentator reacted.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] At least 41 Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) snuffies were "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield Operation, the Turkish military said Jan. 13.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the Death Eater in question was either killed or captured.
A total of 177 ISIS targets including shelters, defense positions, command control centers, weapons and vehicles were hit with the help of target detection systems, said a Turkish General Staff statement.
Separately, Turkish jets destroyed 10 other ISIS targets in air raids on the Suflaniyah and Bzagah regions, the statement added. Targets included four shelters, four headquarters and two weapon-mounted vehicles.
The Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) fighters in liberating al-Bab, a strategic city for ISIS, from the jihadist group. Jan. 13 marks the 143th day since the city was surrounded in order to liberate it.
The operation is part of the Turkish-led Euphrates Shield operation, which began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s border.
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Breitbart] In the 
"Franklin Graham should be removed from Donald Trump's inauguration line up, the US' largest Muslim civil rights group said on Thursday. The outspoken conservative pastor and son of evangelist Billy Graham is due to pray at the ceremony next week in Washington.
The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida...
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] An official of the Afghan High Peace Council (AHPC) official is under fire for calling the Talibs ’Angels and a Holy Group’.
Noor specifically pointed towards the recent attacks in 
[ALMASDARNEWS] Kattab al-Qahtani, an associate of 
Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. Senate minority leader as of 2017.
[YALIBNAN] Three U.S. 
...Self-proclaimed holy man who used to work for Omar Mohammed Bakdri as spokesman for al-Muhajiroun. Anjem is a loathesome little attention prostitute who is to be heard cheering for the home team anytime anybody with a turban manages to slaughter a group of unarmed infidels. Anjem was born in the UK in 1967 and is, as you would expect, of Pakistaini descent. The Ghost of Dante is of the opinion that when he goes to hell his knees will be broken once a month...
A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority of the active testicles left in Europe...
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] American Media revealed that President 
[NYPOST] The best thing that happened to 
[DAILYWIRE] On Wednesday, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott was peppered with racially charged attacks from leftists who disapproved of his support, as a black man, for Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[Iran Press TV] The 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[ALMASDARNEWS] The so-called "
[YALIBNAN] Its is widely believed that Israel has targeted the positions and weapons shipments of 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[NBCNEWS] A U.S. 
[Hurriyet Daily News] 
[Iran Press TV] Egypt says 10 
[Iran Press TV] The mufti of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the occupied Paleostinian territories, Muhammed Hussein, says plans by US President-elect 
[REUTERS] A day after President-elect 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two Chinese nationals of Uighur origin were 
[Iran Press TV] Mexico says it should react "immediately" by imposing its own taxes if US President-elect 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs suffered heavy casualties during an operation of the 
[NEWSWEEK] Thousands of Gazooks 
[FrontPageMagazine] Seen from above, the 2016 electoral map of New York City is blue with dots of red. Trump’s home district is blue, but across the water a red wedge slices into Brooklyn. Around that red wedge are districts where Hillary won 90 percent of the vote and Trump was lucky to get 5 percent. Inside it, he beat her in district after district.
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] A former British ambassador to Russia played a key role in American intelligence agencies receiving explosive allegations about 
Sir Andrew, I don't care what you think of Steele. You will bloody well attend the Halifax conference and have a good time. We'll be looking forward to your trip report. 
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
[Iran Press TV] Outgoing US President 
[Hurriyet Daily News] Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has once again slammed government-pushed constitutional amendments for a shift to a presidential system.
The former chair of the Democratic National Committee confronted FBI Director James Comey on Friday during a classified intelligence briefing.
